As far as I know he isn't. I'm not sure why they are sandbagging Ninjas this time around. Everybody likes them. I get not wanting Reptile and Ermac for base game since they were in the last 2, but c'mon Smoke and Rain would have been hype. But yeah, Ermac, Kenshi and Mileena are the characters that feel like the biggest blows as far as missing characters. Frost is in base game, which is cool, but Kenshi's no doubt the standout awesome character of the PS2 era.
I don't know, for the most part the roster is good getting Noob, Skarlet, Jade, Kotal back. But I wouldn't exactly miss the Cage family if they never returned. At least they made Jacqui less bland. And the plant lady doesn't do much for me. I like the Collector though.
No one's sure what'll happen to the Cyborgs this time around. We know they are in story mode, but it could be a Tanya in MKX situation.